TV, VCR and video games have become common media to children. But most of these products are aimed to market for adults not for children, which leads children to easily meet mass information designed for adults. Further, modern children tend to avoid reading books and are instead fascinated by visually stimulating electronic video games. To overcome this problem, various cassette or video tapes containing verbal narration with background music are produced to attract children's interest in reading. But the children easily lose their interest for these tools because they only provide playing feature of cassette or video tapes. These products cannot repeat specific parts of a story because of slow access time of audio or video tapes. Furthermore, it is almost impossible to memorize millions of currently published books into these products.
On the other hand, some picture books, with voice generating and sensing capability, can perform quite realistic sounds for various animals, machines, instruments, or equipment. However, these products only perform those limited sound effects, and do not have capability of interrupt features as in the present invention.
Computer CD-ROM(Compact Disk-Read Only Memory) technology has solved many of the problems mentioned earlier. But since the computer have CD-ROM capabilities and related softwares, the computer cannot therefore be in a portable size. Yet, it is another question whether the children can operate computers without the help of their parents.
Exemplary of prior art teachings is "language practice set using message card", U.S. Pat. No. 4,980,919. It discloses the following invention: "Language practice set using message card of this invention stores voice signal into memory with different addresses through coding holes. The device of this invention allows a pattern of picture on a card to be interpreted into the equivalent voice meaning by an adult, and is recorded into the language practicing set. When a child inserts one of the message cards into the language practicing set, the voice equivalent to the meaning of the picture shown on the card will be played immediately to provide a combined voice-and-picture teaching result. The devices provide the children with a learning method to link the visual and linguistic education together. The device includes a microphone, memory, voice synthesizer, power amplifier and interface circuit. A message card, a record-replay switch and a start button are also provided. The device of the present invention can also be used as message recorder.
In Australian Patent No. 031,993, the following invention titled "Book with capacity to generate audible sound effects" was introduced. "The book of this invention has page identifying device comprising series of light sensors or contact switches associated with respective apertures of projections. A voice synthesizer is attached to an end cover, and is electrically connected to a series of light sensitive photo sensors. Each of the pages is provided with a significator in the form of one or more apertures. The permutation of the number of the apertures, and the arrangement and spacing of the apertures for each page, differs from page to page. Alternatively, the sensors my be replaced by contact switches, and the apertures by projections. This invention provides enhanced learning as more than one sensor is being used."
In German Patent No. 4,100,001, an invention titled "audiovisual learning apparatus" is introduced.
The audiovisual learning apparatus of this invention illuminates symbols in instruction book using LEDs in the synchronism with audio recording. The aid to the learning of languages or music to structured as an audio visual unit which as instruction book can have either fully or partially transparent pages with symbols. A unit is inserted on the underside of the page and a pattern of LED devices terminate the symbols. The unit responds to a programmed sequence that relates to the specific page displayed on a panel. The program can be provided by a magnetic tape recorder and allows the audio information to be synchronized with the recording.
The above referenced prior art are designed to generate artificial sound with optical sensors or contact switches. But they lack portability and can only provide limited number of sound effects.